Store-service apparatus.



No. 655,9". Patented Aug. I4, 1900. E. H. PFEIFFEH.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

(Application led Jan. 25. 1900.)

x WQ@ v STATES PATENT Onricn.

ELIZABETH I'I. PFEIFFER, OF PENSACOLA, FLORIDA.

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters latent No. 655,911, dated August14, 1900. Application lcd January 25, 1900. Serial No. 2,781. (N0 modemT0 all whom it may Concern,.-

Beit known that LELIZABETH H. PFEIFFER, a citizen of the United States,residingat Pensacola, in the county of Escambia and State of Florida,haveinvented new and useful Improvementsvin Store-Service App ratus, ofwhich the following is a specification. y

My invention relates to labor-saving apparatus for use in stores andsimilar places, and contemplates the provision of means whereby ascalemaybe easilyand expeditiouslymoved lengthwise of a counter or othersupport to a point adjacent to the material to be weighed, thusrendering it unnecessary for a clerk to walk to and fro between thematerial and the scale in filling the scoop of the latter.

The invention also contemplates the provision of scale-moving means,through the medium of which a clerk standing at one end of the countermay draw the scale to or move it away from him.

It further contemplates the provision of uprights, which serve assupports for cord-holders and paper-bag racks and also serve to inclosereciprocatory rack-bars, throughithe medium of which motion istransmitted to the scale-conveyer and guide said rack-bars in theirmovements.

With the foregoing in mind the invention will be fully understood fromthe following description and claims, when taken in conjunction with theannexed drawings, in Which- Figure l is a broken longitudinal sectionillustrating a store-counter and my improved apparatus with the parts intheir proper operative positions. Figs. 2, 3,and et are enlarged detailsections taken in the planes indicated by the broken lines 2 2, 3 3, and44,

respectively, of Fig. l.

Referring by letter to the said drawings, A is a storecounter, whichmaybe and preferably is of the ordinary construction, with theexceptions that it is provided in its top, at points adjacent to i-tsends, with apertures ct and is also provided in the upper side of itstop with a longitudinal g'roove b, extending from one aperture a to theother.

B is a scale, which in general is of the ordinary construction and isdesigned to be moved lengthwise of the counter, on the top thereof. Thisscale is preferably mounted in a pivotal `as shown in Fig. l.

manner on a carrier B', provided withv traveling wheels c to facilitatemoven1ent,th ereof, and also provided with one or more dependingprojections d, which are designed to rest and move in the grooveb ofthecounter, and thereby hold the carrier against lateral movement ordisplacement incident to its 'movements longitudinally of the'counter;

. C C are sprocket-wheels arranged to turn in the openings a of thecounter-top and fixed on shafts e, journaled in bearings f at the underside of the counter-top.

D D are pinions fixed on the shafts c at the side of the sprocket-wheelsC.

E is a conveyer, through the medium of which the scale is moved to andfro longitudinally of the counter. This conveyer is preferably in theform of an endless sprocketchain,which takes around the sprocket-wheelsC and has its upper stretch arranged and adapted to move in the groove bof the counter, as shown. It is connected to one, preferably the middle,depending projection d of the carrier, and hence it will be seen thatwhen it is moved the carrier and scale will be steadily and smoothlymoved on top of the counter.

F F are hollow uprights, which are connected to and rise from the top ofthe counter A at'points above the sprocket-Wheels C and y are providedwith vertical slots g, as shown at the left of Fig. l, and G G areverticalk rack-bars, which are intermeshed with the pinions D and aredesigned, through the medium of said pinions, to transmit motion to thesprocket-wheels C 'and conveyer E. At

,their upper ends the said rack-bars -areprovided with lateral handlesH, which extend through the vslots gof the uprights Fand areconsequently able to hold the `bars against turning out of engagementwith the pinions D. .At their lower ends the rack-bars are connected tosteadying-rods I," which extend loosely through apertures in thestore-door,

By virtue of the construction thusfar de= scribed a clerk standing ateither end of the counter A is enabled by drawing down on the adjacenthandle H to draw the scale B to him and is also enabled by drawing down.or pushing up on the handle to move the scale to any desired point inthe length ofthe counter.

IOO

It follows from this that the scale may be conveniently andexpeditiously moved with but little effort on the part of the clerk to apoint adjacent to the material to be weighed, thus rendering itunnecessary for the clerk to Walk to and fro between the material andscale in filling the scoop of the latter and saving both time and labor.

By virtue of my improved apparatus the scale B is enabled to take theplace of a number of scales located at intervals in the length of thecounter, since it is adapted, as before described, to be moved to anypoint intermediate of the ends of the counter. It will also be observedthat my improved apparatus is simple,compact,and inexpensive, is readilyapplicable to ordinary counters, such as are found in grocery and otherstores, and embodies no delicate parts, such as are likely to get out oforder aftera short period of use.

J J are bag-racks. These bag-racks comprise bodies h, which are mountedand by preference adapted to turn on the upper ends ofthe uprights F andare provided with handles 't' and arms j, which extend radially from thebodies and are provided with pins 7c or other bag-holding means. Thebodies h of the bag-racks are in the form of receptacles, and hence areadapted to hold balls of cord after the manner shown.

In practice it will be seen that after sugar or other material isweighed the scale may be moved to a point adjacent to one of theuprights F, where the clerk can conveniently select a bag and place thesugar therein and the-n tie up the bag.

I have entered into a specific description of the construction andrelative arrangement of the several parts of my improved apparatus inorder to 'impart a full, clear, and exact understanding of the same. Ido not desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to suchspecilic construction and arrangement of parts, as such changes ormodifications may be made in practice as fairly fall within the scope ofmy invention.

By' reason of the scale B being pivotally mounted on the carrier B thescale may be turned on the carrier to any position desired.

When desirable, a coiled spring surrounding the pintle d and interposedbetween the base a3 of the scale and the carrier B', as best shown inFig. 3, may be employed to hold the scale against casual swingingmovement and retain it in the positions to which it is adjusted.

Having thus described my invention, what I.claim is 1. In a labor-savingapparatus for use in stores, the combination of a counter having alongitudinal guideway in its upper side, wheels mounted below thecounter and ad jacent to the ends thereof, a belt taking around saidwheels and having its upper stretch arranged in the guideway, a handle,gearing intermediate of the handle and one of the wheels, and a scale orother device to be moved having a depending projection arranged in theguideway of the counter and connected to the belt, substantially asspecified.

2. In a labor-saving apparatus for use in stores, the combination of acounter, wheels arranged adjacent to the ends of the counter, aconveying-belt taking around said wheels, a pinion iiXed with respect toone of the belt- Wheels, and a vertically-movable rack-bar intermeshedwith said pinion, substantially as specified.

3. In a labor-saving apparatus for use in stores, the combination of acounter, a hollow upright rising from the counter and having a verticalslot, wheels arranged adjacent to the Y ends of the counter, alongitudinally-disposed conveyer-belt taking around said wheels, apinion fixed with respect to one of the beltwheels, and avertically-movable rack-bar intermeshed with said pinion and movable inthe hollow upright and having a lateral handle movable in the slot ofsaid upright, substantially as specified.

4. In a labor-saving apparatus for use in stores, the combination 'of acounter, hollow uprights rising from the counter at points adjacenttothe ends thereof and having vertical slots, wheels arranged adjacentto the ends of the counter, a longitudinally-disposed belt taking aroundsaid Wheels arranged adjacent to the ends of the counter, pinions xedwith respect to the belt-wheels, and vertically-movable rack-barsintermeshed with the piuions and movable in the hollow uprights andhaving lateral handles movable in the slots of said uprights,substantially as specified.

5. In a labor-saving apparatus for use in stores, the combination of acounter, a belt disposed longitudinally of the counter and having itsupper stretch arranged abo-ve the counter, a carrier arranged on thecounterv and connected to the belt, and a scale pivotally mounted onsaid carrier whereby it may be turned thereon to any position desired,substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence vof twosubscribing witnesses.

ELIZABETH H. PFEIFFER. Witnesses:

WV. W. MANN, J. C. DooDY.

ICO

